


Slowed Down

by badasshunny



Category: Cars (Movies)
Genre: Cars, Cars 2, He needs to end it all, Human, M/M, Protective Francesco, Racers, Recovery, Sally - Freeform, depressed, human version
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-12-14
Updated: 2017-06-21
Packaged: 2018-09-08 11:53:33
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,320
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8843800
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/badasshunny/pseuds/badasshunny
Summary: Lightning Mcqueen hits a rock bottom after Sally leaves him, he feels there is no reason for him to ne breathing anymore. His racecar, sits in the garage untouched, collecting dust. Lightning's racing days are officially over, and it only gets worse as Sally's body is found, someone had murdered her. Mcqueen's will to even get out of bed was gone, he had definitely hit the lowest he could possibly hit. Francesco Bernoulli hears the American racer had gone downhill, depression consumed him and Lightning's friends called Francesco to have him come help. The Italian racer knew he had to take action, before Lightning completely destroyed himself. The two racers must face the past Lightning has been hiding from, and they both find out the terrible truth.





	1. The beginning

Lightning stared off at a wall, unmoving from his bed. Depression was hitting him hard, he wasn't sure how much more he could take before he would snap. 

Sally left him, she just picked up and left him all because he was in Italy doing his races. He had invited her to come,but she kept denying him. Sally said she was sick of his racing, that he was more focused on that then he was on her. 

After a month of so of her being gone, Sally's body was found not far out of radiator springs. She had died, someone had purposely killed her, and no one knew why. 

So now Lightning had nothing to love for, Sally had been his life,but now she was gone and never coming back to him. Lightning hasn't raced since she left, his desire to even get in his car was gone. 

Of course everyone around town tried to help him through the tough time, but nothing would ever help him. 

Lightning sighed and got up and off his bed to head down Flo's place to get some coffee and relax. He rarely ate anymore the desire to do many things was gone.

The walk to Flo's took longer than it should have but he was just so tired anymore. Flo got him some coffee when he came in, just the way he liked it. Lightning  sat down in his usual spot, near the back by a window. 

"Guess what sugar?" Flo said to Lightning. Lightning glanced up at her, afraid of even more bad news coming his way. He knew that if it was bad he'd definitely lose his mind. 

"What is it Flo?" He asked carefully. Fear filled his body, what if something even worse was gonna happen? 

"Francesco is coming to town later today, someone called him, we are well worried about you Lightning, he's really the last hope sugar." Flo said as gently as she could to the racer. 

His body froze up just from hearing Francesco's name. Lightning stood up abruptly, knocking over the chair he was sitting on. 

"No, I don't need anyone's help! Especially not his! I hate him!" Lightning shouted at her. He picked up his coffee and left her café. He didn't need this right now, especially not now.

He ran back to his house and into his garage. There stood his beautiful racecar, thay hadn't been touched for months. His hands itched to grab the keys and go, but he resisted. 

Instead, he slid down the side of the car and laid on his side. Life was so pointless, he was just an empty shell of himself now. 

"Without Sally I'm nothing." He whispered quietly. Tears slid down his face, he slid his knees up to his chest in an effort to calm himself, but of course it didn't work. 

He was full on crying now, but the effort to care anymore was gone. Why, why'd Sally leave him like this? Lightening could never forgive himself for not stopping her from leaving, she's now six feet under because of him. Things would never be okay again, at least not for him.

His stomach grumbled loudly, Lightning hadn't eaten for a few days, there was no desire to. 

Lightning eventually passed out, not only from exhaustion but from the overwhelming hunger that consumed him. 

☆☆☆☆ 

Light caresses work Lightning from his fitful sleep. Hands were running through his hair, which was meant to calm him but he couldn't help but feel panic rise into his chest. His eyes slowly opened, only to see bright brown one staring back at him. 

A scream escaped his lips as he went to punch upwards but his arm was gently held down. 

"Francesco a' sees your friends really weren't a' lying about your condition." Francesco said soothingly. Lightning wanted to scream and just run, but Francesco's hold on him was strong, but gentle at the same time. 

"Get out of my house and get out of my life, I never asked for you to be here Francesco." Lightning spat at him. The Italian driver was unfazed by the hatred coming from Lightning, instead he just smiled down at the other racer. 

"Francesco is a' worried Mcqueen, what happened to the racer that was back in a' Italy those few months ago?" Francesco asked gently. Another tear slipped out of Lightning's eye, but he just let it fall, exposing how much of a mess these past months had made him. 

"Look you wouldn't get it, so just leave." Lightning said as he pushed Francesco away and stood up. How did he drop this low? His friends sent Francesco here because they felt there was no one left to save him, he didn't need saving, especially not from Francesco. 

Arms wrapped around Lightning's waist, making him even more angry. The Italian had always been so touchy with him, and also loved to insult him at times. 

"Let's a' get some food in you and Francesco will put you a' down for bed." Francesco said while guiding Lightning to the kitchen. 

The fight in Lightning was gone, he was juts so exhausted, too tired to fight against Francesco's demanding gestures.

Francesco pushed him gently down into a chair, before he went into the kitchen and began to try and make a dinner with the food that was actually in the kitchen. 

Lightning of course wasn't hungry, he'd rather starve to death, maybe then peace could be found in these hectic months. 

Francesco was the perfect guy for any girl, the guy had skills, he was confident in everything he did. Lightening wished to have the confidence Francesco did, but now that Sally was gone, there was nothing left for him to hold onto. 

 

Francesco came back out to where Lightning was, with a plate of hot steaming spaghetti. The plate was placed in front of Lightning, but he didn't so much as glance at the food before him. Francesco noticed the odd behavior Lightning was showing, the young driver didn't want to eat. 

"Lightning, you need to a' eat, doing thin to yourself will not change anything." Francesco said, he took it upon himself to feed Lightning, since the other driver obviously had no interest. 

Lightning glared at him as a fork with some spaghetti was held to his mouth. His stomach growled loudly, Lightning was truly hungry. He slowly opened his mouth, Francesco put the food in his mouth. His taste buds exploded from the delicious taste. Lightning never tasted pasta with such flavor. 

The next time Francesco put food up to his mouth he didn't even hesitate to be fed. The treatment Francesco was showing him was nice, no one had ever treated him this way before. 

When Lightning was a young child, his parents never cared for him, only his aunt did. But even his aunt didn't show him much love. This attention was nice, it was relaxing. 

The rest of the dinner went smoothly, Lightning cleared the whole plate. His stomach was full, it was the first time he's really eaten a real meal in a few days. Francesco quickly ate before heading back to the kitchen to do the dishes. 

Lightning was half asleep by the time he came back out from the kitchen. 

"Si, a' Francesco said you would a' tired, time to go to bed." Francesco said gently. He scooped Lightning up in his arms, bridal style of course. Lightning glared at him as he was disturbed from his almost sleep. 

"I can walk Francesco, I don't need you." Lightning mumbled. Francesco only smiled down at him as he took the young racer up to his room. He gently set Lightening down on the bed before sliding in next to him. 

"Woah, you are not sleeping with me Francesco, no." Lightning said, glaring hard at the other man. The last person he slept next to in bed was a his loving Sally, he'd been alone since. It was either her or no one. 

"Oh come now, Francesco was sent here to a' watch you, to take care of you, Francesco doesn't want anything to a' happen to you." He softly explained. With no further argument, Lightning turned over and drifted off to his blissful sleep.


	2. Monsters

The next morning Francesco woke up, his arms empty, Lightning was gone from the bed. Francesco rushed to get up, tripping on almost everything in his path as he tried to get dressed so he could go look for him. He didn't want to fear the worst, maybe the young driver went to get some coffee or maybe he's even downstairs. 

Once he was fully dressed, wearing his race uniform, Francesco ran down the steps to search for Lightning. Lightning was no where to be found in the house, making panic rise into Francesco's chest. Where could he possibly have gone?

Francesco ran down the road towards Flo's place, where a huge crowd was gathered around. Whatever was going on had attracted a lot of attention. There was no doubt that Lightning was there. If he wasn't then Francesco had nowhere else to look. As he reached the crowd of people he tried to squeeze through, to the middle. 

Lightning stood in the middle, facing another guy. The guy had been threatening him the whole time he arrived at Flo's, so it was time to make him swallow those words. 

"Have you ever wondered what happened to your beloved Sally, Mcqueen?" The man said with a devilish smirk on his face. Lightning froze, this man knew what really happened. 

"You son of a fucking bitch, you killed her didn't you?" Lightening growled fiercely. Rage ripped through his chest, along with hurt knowing that she really was murdered. 

"She was so good, I see now why you were in to her. I didn't kill her, no, but I know who did." The man said, a smirk playing on his lips. Lightning screamed, he wanted to just lunge and make the man pay for what he dared to Sally. 

Lightning did end up lunging, but the man wanted him to do just that.

The man grabbed Lightning by the neck, holding him up high enough that his feet couldn't touch the ground. Lightning ended up gasping, not able to reach the man with his short legs. 

"Sally was killed in order to get to you, I see now why they want you. You're a pretty boy Mcqueen, I'd love to test you out." The man purred. People all around them weren't even helping, just looking at the scene that was unfolding before them. 

Francesco suddenly came shoving through the crowd to the center of the circle, where the other two were at. A snarl was on Francesco's face, he was ready to pounce at any given moment. 

"Ahhh it's the famous Italian driver, I'm sorry if I'm messing with what is now yours, but I just couldn't help myself. My name is Xavier, so nice to be here." Xavier said. 

"Lightning is a' Francesco's, so let him go or suffer." Francesco spat out. Xavier seemed unfazed by the threat, instead he reached out and went to grab between Lightning's legs. 

The Italian champion saw the move coming, he took that as his opportunity to make his first move. Francesco took a running start and jumped up in the air before giving Xavier a death shattering kick to the head. 

Xavier flew backwards, Lightning falling from his grip and onto the hard ground below. 

"Run mio amore!" Francesco demanded, and Lightning was never happier to obey Francesco. 

Francesco turned back to his rising opponent. The blow definitely took a toll on him, his face was a mess of blood and dirt. 

"I'll make you pay for that mistake if it's the last thing I do!" Xavier yelled before charging at Francesco. 

A loud gunshot sounded, Xavier never reaching his attended target. Francesco turned to look at the shooter, it was the sheriff. 

"Where were you, Lightning was in a' danger long before Francesco even arrived here!" Francesco asked. The sheriff's reaction time should've been faster. 

"Get outta here Francesco, go find Lightening and keep him inside till this gets figured out." The sheriff ordered. Francesco wanted to say more but ran off to find where Lightning had run off to. 

Lightning had tried to run back home, but ended up collapsing on the side of the road. That man knew what happened to Sally, he watched her die. They did it to get to him, they wanted him. Sally died because of him, there was no way he could possibly forgive himself for it. 

"Lightning, mio amore, Francesco was so a' worried about you!" Francesco approached him from behind, dropping to the ground next to him. Lightning had tears all down his face, his mind still in a state of shock. 

Francesco pulled Lightning to his chest, then began to gently stroke the others hair. Lightning broke down then, gripping onto Francesco's race uniform he let all of his tears out. Francesco softly rocked Lightning, gently shushing him, and telling him none of it was his fault. 

"Francesco a' promises you Lightening, Francesco will protect you. No one can hurt you, you have a' Francesco's word mio amore." He gently whispered to Lightning, who was beginning to calm his sobs. 

Francesco lifted Lightning up, cradling him to his chest. There was a rough road ahead from here, Francesco knew he had to track down those men, if they ever got their hands on Lightning, Francesco would never forgive himself. 

They finally returned to Lightning's house, Francesco put him in his bed, it was still early in the day but Lightning needed to just relax. 

"Lightning, Francesco is sending the sheriff over here to watch you, Francesco a' promises to be back later." Francesco said from where he was standing in the doorway of the bedroom. 

Lightning didn't even hear the words being spoken. Fear still paralyzed him, he felt too numb. 

Francesco made sure the sheriff arrived at Lightning's house before getting in his racecar and taking off. 

The sooner he found the men the better, they were a threat that needed to be eliminated. Francesco knew he would do anything to protect the one he loves.


	3. Savior

Rain poured down on the little town of Radiator  Springs, and the farther Francesco raced out of town, the heavier the rain became. 

Darkness covered the sky by the time he reached the area he was driving to; the place where Sally's body had been discover not that long ago. 

There were no leads on this case, no evidence that anyone in town could have done it, but there had been signs of struggle, and the autopsy revealed that Sally had been suffocated. 

Francesco slowly walked around, searching the area for anything the sheriff could have missed. 

The question was, why was Sally this far outside of town that night, and what had she been doing alone? 

There was no way a female had killed her, it had to be a male, but Why? 

There was absolutely nothing out here, it was just an empty canyon. Lightning was in serious danger, and if these men weren't stopped, then who knows what they could do to him.

Lightning was not fragile, but he was definitely too skinny to fight off grown men on his own. He needed to be kept safe, and out of harms way. 

Francesco's phone buzzed in his pocket, startling him. He quickly grabbed it and answered the call from the unknown number. 

"Francesco, it's me, sheriff. Lightning won't stop screaming, and every time I get near, he shoves me back and just screams louder. Get here and take care of this mess, I'll look for the criminals, you just take care of Lightning!" 

Francesco then hung up on the sheriff and sprinted back to where he had left his car. 

He quickly got into the driver seat and took off back towards Lightning's house. Leaving him behind with the sheriff was probably the worst thing he could have done, after what had taken place this morning. Lightning didn't deserve to be afraid anymore, and seeing the Sheriff, who is a big guy, must have triggered him. 

Lightning used to be so prideful, and was afraid to show anyone his true emotions. The other racer was truly falling apart, and Francesco needed to find a way to help him heal. 

Francesco left his car in the driveway and ran into the house, and he was immeaditatly met with the screaming of Lightning. 

Lightning was in the living room, backed up into a corner, with the sheriff not far away from  him. 

"Sheriff, Francesco can a' handle this from here, your presence just seems to be a' stressing him out even more." Francesco said. 

The sheriff grumbled but walked over to the door anyways to leave. However, he turned around and grabbed Francesco's arm in a tight, painful grip. 

"If you do anything to hurt him further, I swear to you, i will be the one to bury your corpse." 

"Si Francesco would never do anything to a' hurt Lightning. You have Francesco's word." 

The sheriff seemed satisfied with the answer, and released his hurtful grip on Francesco. He then tipped his hat at the Italian driver and went on his way back into town. 

Francesco then turned his attention back to the situation at hand. 

Lightning didn't scream or panic when he was approached, and didn't flinch away from the soft touch on his face.

"Francesco is very sorry, si. Francesco knows you are a' scared Lightning, but everything is going to be okay." 

Francesco slid down the wall and sat next to Lightning, letting out a sigh as he did so. 

"You see Lightning, sometimes you a' want to change the past, and you feel regret every day of your life because of what happened, but you can't stop a' living the life and let it effect you like this." 

Lightning looked up at Francesco, and Francesco could see the hurt, and all the pain he had been dealing with for months on end. 

"What am I supposed to do? Sally was my life, and now she's dead, so my life is now dead." Lightning said tearfully. 

"No, the way Francesco remembers it, was that racing has been your a' life way before you even knew Sally." Francesco argued. 

Lightning sniffled, knowing that Francesco had a point, he had loved racing, and then he ended up crashing into this town, and it had changed his life forever. Sally had impacted his life a lot, he had loved her, truly loved her. 

But his love of racing had dragged him away from her, and she had begun to believe he loved the sport more than her. She was wrong, so wrong. He had tried to reason with her, but she would have none of it, and she turned her back on him.

"I did love racing." Lightning whispered, wiping away a stray tear. 

"No, you do love racing, and you will a' be back out there before the upcoming season starts." Francesco said. 

Did Lightning really want to get back behind the wheel of his car? 

"Will you help me?" Lightning asked. 

"Don't be silly, of course Francesco will help you get a' back out there!" Francesco said, pulling Lightning close to him. 

"But for now, let's get you to a' bed." Francesco said, standing up. 

Before Lightning even got the chance to get up, Franccesco swooped down and lifted Lightning close to his chest. 

"I can walk you know that right?" 

Francesco only smiled down at his racing lover. He truly did love McQueen, and wanted to be with him, but his healing process was more important. 

Francesco laid Lightning down on the bed and quickly crawled up next to him. 

"Goodnight."


End file.
